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How to Beta Read

On Mibba, correct spelling, grammar, capitalization and formatting are thought of quite highly. They are part of the rules, for one, but they also play an important part in the success of your story. Despite the notable additive, “Never judge a book by its cover,” the aesthetic value of your story is important, and relies heavily on those four elements. If it looks sloppy and hastily put together, wrought with spelling and grammatical errors, people will not give it a chance. This is why betas usually focus the most on these technical applications, but a good beta can provide so many more benefits. But how can you do this?

The first thing to do is read the piece. Read it with a clear mind. Read it as a reader, not a beta, and allow yourself to become immersed in the story the writer is telling. Be the audience, not the reviewer. When you’ve done that, quickly jot down your overall feelings towards the piece. How did you feel once it was over? What were your thoughts? What were some questions you had? Did you like it or did you hate it? Was it interesting to read or did you have to push through to the end? Give the author your honest reaction to the work they’ve asked you to beta. And then you read it again.

On your second read, dissect the piece by paragraph. Focus on each paragraph as a mini-story of its own and break down each sentence. What you’re looking for here - besides technical spelling and grammatical errors - is syntax, cadence and vocabulary. Syntax, at its most basic form, is how we order our words. Cadence, though more often used in music, is the pace at which our words flow. And vocabulary, in the way that’s needed here, is simply how we use those words: word choice. Together, these three elements make up one of the most important factors of writing: how we build our sentences and the flow of the story.

Another thing beta readers must look out for are issues with the story’s plot (plot holes) and continuity. This means making sure that the story makes sense and follows some sort of logic. For example, if reading a fantasy piece where the rules of that universe may differ from that of real life, be sure that those rules are consistent throughout the story. Beta readers should look for instances where contradictions are made, facts change, unintentional changes in tense occur, and any other inconsistencies.

An essential part of beta-reading a piece is providing the author with your opinions, but sometimes betas shy away from commenting on the content of a piece they are editing. They often feel that if they do, they may overstep a boundary and taint the piece with their views. But that’s part of the beauty of a beta, offering the author your personal opinions - something a robotic spell-check program cannot do. Spell-check and grammar-checking programs can only alert writers of technical inaccuracies. These programs don’t feel, they can’t read and comprehend stories, they don’t draw conclusions, they can’t emotionally react or bond to a piece of writing, but you can. And as a beta, it is your job to use those gifts of human thought and emotion to help improve the piece.

Tips

Get information: Before you start to beta read a piece, speak to the author about what they want. Make sure you’re both on the same page by having the author detail what they need you to do with their piece. Also, ask how they’d like changes to be made; some authors don’t mind if you directly edit the piece, while some would prefer if you left edits ‘in the margins.’
Take notes: While reading, make notes of things you like, things you don’t like, things you’re confused about, and bring it up with the author.
Say it out loud: When reading, especially when it comes to dialogue, say it out loud to see if it’s sounds natural and not forced.
Use reference: If there’s a grammar/spelling issue you’re unsure of, look it up. Grammar Book can be an exceptional tool for any writer.
Use examples, be clear, and make suggestions: If you’re explaining something to the author, illustrate with examples. Try not to ramble or go off-topic. Stay focused. Offer other options.
Most important: BE HONEST.